The Jef Schils Memorial, an Open National B road race made its post-Covid19 return last year where Rowan Baker added his name to an illustrious list of winners. Situated in the countryside around Abberton Reservoir near Colchester, Essex, it returns this Sunday.
What is it?
Held in memory of former Belgian professional Jef Schils, and organised by his son Patrick, of the Schils-Doltcini team, the race has been run since 2011, with a list of winners including Rory Townsend, Matt Cronshaw (twice) and Jef’s grandson Dominic, who takes to the start again on Sunday.
Route
The organiser aims to promote the race as a ‘Belgian style event’, with the complex parcours certainly fitting into the Flandrian vibe. One of the more complex routes for a National B race, it uses three circuits for a total of eight laps.
The first three on the Birch circuit are the same as one used for the Jock Wadley, a traditional early season classic. Next are two laps of the combined Abberton/Birch circuit, taking in the picturesque reservoir, plus half a lap of the Jock Wadley Birch circuit run clockwise. Finally, two more laps of the Birch circuit finish off the race.
With 1000m of climbing over the 123km, the race is certainly on the flatter end of the spectrum, although the twisting, technical roads offer a challenge, with the peloton likely to be whittled down each lap.
The final three circuits around the Birch course contain the small climb of Layer Breton Hill, the summit with only 500m to go. It’s not particularly difficult tackled alone, but with fatigue in the legs is likely to be a decisive point in deciding if the race finishes in a reduced bunch sprint or a solo rider can stay clear.
Riders to watch
The startlist is packed with talent eager to impress with the end of the season edging nearer.
Saint Piran stagiaire Tom Williams, winner of the latest round of the National Road Series at the Ryedale GP makes his debut for the Cornish team. Can he mark it with a win? A puncheur who excels doing short, hard efforts with a good sprint to boot, he could be hard to stop.
Clay Davies and Jake Hales form part of a strong Ride Revolution Coaching outfit, the former 11th in the Victor Berlemont Road Race and took the West Midlands divisional title earlier this month. Hales is a solid sprinter, and the two could be hard to stop if they play their tactics well.
Le Col RT bring ten riders, led by the experienced Damien Clayton. The Yorkshireman started the season in sublime form, although he has not raced much since June, with his form somewhat unknown.
Oliver Mangham (Richardsons Trek-DAS) was in good form at the Cambridge Criterium, instigating a move containing Archie Peet (Reflex Racing) which had the potential to go the distance. Peet has been one of the breakthrough riders of the season, winning the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race back in April and going on the attack during the Lincoln GP. He looked in excellent shape last weekend, driving the breakaway forward as the laps ticked away.
Home team Schils-Doltcini contain former winner Dominic Schils, as well as Cambridge Criterium winner Frank Longstaff. A track rider, Longstaff may find the distance too much, although he has an incredibly fast finish should he make it to the line in contention.
Thomas Heal (Stolen Goat RT) has had a consistent season, his best result 3rd on the Totnes 2-Day, while Callum Laborde (Wheelbase-CabTech-Castelli) is a young rider with excellent potential and a good sprint, finishing 6th in the Lancaster GP, as well as mixing it in the bunch sprints with the likes of Longstaff at the Sherpa Performance Stage Race.
Danylo Riwnyj (Foran CT) had an impressive ride last week at the Victor Berlemont, making the final selection. James Ambrose-Parish (TAAP-Kalas) has had a consistent season and has been racing in the Tour de Guyane in French Guiana recently, placing in the top ten of four of the 11 stages.
Provisional startlist
| First name | Surname | Team |
| Tsz Shun | Cheung | |
| Alex | Jones | |
| Adam | Lightfoot | |
| Michael | Weavers | |
| David | Bagdan | 6AM Cycling |
| Tyler | Lemmon | ASSOS UK Racing Team |
| Alex | Galpin | Beeston Cycling Club |
| Joe | Adlam-Cook | Cambridge University CC |
| Matthew | Rizzo-Naudi | Cambridge University CC |
| David | Hird | Cycling Sheffield |
| Gary | Freeman | DAP Cycling Club |
| Harley | Matthews | DAP Cycling Club |
| Alex | Pickering | Elysium Kalas Race Team |
| Tobias | Dahlhaus | Foran CT |
| Thomas | Quaid | Foran CT |
| Danylo | Riwnyj | Foran CT |
| Nicholas | Tyrie | Foran CT |
| Edmund | Slater | GFTL |
| Gavin | Arber | Le Col Race Team |
| Euan | Baines | Le Col Race Team |
| Damien | Clayton | Le Col Race Team |
| James | Hughes | Le Col Race Team |
| Sean | Lancaric | Le Col Race Team |
| Toby | Langstone | Le Col Race Team |
| Steven | Mayers | Le Col Race Team |
| Oliver | Richardson | Le Col Race Team |
| Alexander | Stanley | Le Col Race Team |
| Richard | Todd | Le Col Race Team |
| Oliver | Featherstone | League of Swindon Cycles RT |
| Sebastian | Anderson | Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club |
| Oskar | Everett | Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club |
| Alex | Franks | London Dynamo |
| Aaron | Freeman | London Dynamo |
| Benjamin | Hellebo | London Dynamo |
| Ãlvaro | Trivio Martinez | London Dynamo |
| Archie | Waller | London Dynamo |
| Jack | Sutton | Optimum Coaching |
| Max | Bolton | Oxford University Cycling Club |
| Matthew | Gilmour | Primera-TeamJobs |
| Charlie | Crawt | Primo RT |
| Oliver | Curd | Primo RT |
| Robert | Staines | Primo RT |
| Colin | Ward | Primo RT |
| Archie | Peet | Reflex Racing |
| Olivier | Mangham | Richardsons Trek DAS |
| Steven | Parsonage | Richardsons Trek DAS |
| Clay | Davies | Ride Revolution Coaching |
| Jake | Hales | Ride Revolution Coaching |
| Gabriel | Taylor | Ride Revolution Coaching |
| Matt | Watson | Ride Revolution Coaching |
| Patrick | Biel | Schils – Doltcini Racing Team |
| George | Bowman | Schils – Doltcini Racing Team |
| Peter | Fuller | Schils – Doltcini Racing Team |
| Cameron | Hurst | Schils – Doltcini Racing Team |
| Frank | Longstaff | Schils – Doltcini Racing Team |
| Dominic | Schils | Schils – Doltcini Racing Team |
| Chris | McNamara | Sigma Sports Race Team |
| Thomas | Heal | Stolen Goat Race Team |
| James | Ambrose-Parish | TAAP Kalas |
| Oliver | Hucks | TAAP Kalas |
| Sreenath | Lakshnikanth | Tamil Naduh |
| Ken | Buckley | TEAM BPC FLOWBIO |
| Tom | Williams | THRIVA-SRCT |
| Daniel | Lloyd | trainSharp Development Team |
| Timothy | Torrie | trainSharp Orro Elite |
| Luca | Unwin | Trinity Racing |
| Callum | Laborde | Wheelbase CabTech Castelli |
| Philip | Large | Wold Top The Edge Pactimo |
| Freddy | Pett | Wold Top The Edge Pactimo |
| Joshua | Ballinger | Wolfox x Pedal Mafia RT |
| Jacob | James | Wolfox x Pedal Mafia RT |
| Oliver | Snodden | SN-Vitae Huub p/b Bim Bam Coaching |
| Bobby | Buenfeld |
